UFC 66: Post-Event Thoughts from MMAjunkie.com

It’s always a great feeling when a UFC event lives up to the hype — and it’s $39.95 price tag.

I’m up way too late, still wired from the event. I’m going to wrap up this post and call it a night. I’ll be back for more tomorrow. Until then, though…

I put a total of $1,100 down on seven of the nine UFC 66 fights last night. Using Performify’s Picks as a guideline (but straying from the recommended units slightly), I went 4-3 for the night and finished at -$17. However, if you count the sign-up bonus I received when I opened my account, I finished with a respectable $83 profit.

As a first-time MMA gambler bettor, I can honestly tell you that the fights had a whole lot more excitement this time around.

I hated losing that bet on Forrest Griffin, especially when I was planning to throw my support behind Keith Jardine right up until the time I placed my bets. I’ve always liked Jardine as a fighter, so that cushioned the blow of losing a couple hundred bucks. Albeit only slightly.

Anyway, I’ll get ’em next time. And a big thanks to Performify for walking me through the process and giving me some good picks.

Also, I want to thank everyone who stopped by MMAjunkie.com for updates the past 24 hours. I know I sound like a broken record at this point and you could probably care less, but I’m truly amazed and thankful for the support we’ve gotten here on the site. I’m a little embarrassed by our cookie-cutter blog template and no-frills presentation, but you guys seem to enjoy the content. Thanks for giving us a chance and coming back for repeat visits.

I’m not sure of the correct blogger code of conduct in a situation like this, so I’ll try to keep it in general terms — but the explosion in traffic to the site that we received during UFC 66 is baffling, humbling and so very exciting for the three of us working on the site. At one point, we had more than 2,200 people on the site, and overall, we crushed our previous record for total daily page views by 700 percent. Yes, 700 percent. Thanks to the tens of thousands of you who gave us a shot yesterday.

I wanted to share a few of my personal thoughts and observations on last night’s event before MMAjunkie.com’s focus turns to UFC Fight Night on Jan. 25 on UFC 67 on Feb. 3:

Again, Chuck Liddell was simply the better fighter. Tito Ortiz’s only shot at a victory was getting Liddell to the ground, and just a couple minutes into the fight, it was obvious he was over-matched. I respect Ortiz for weathering that first-round barrage and being so complimentary of Liddell in the post-fight interview, but the lasting legacy of that fight will be Liddell’s complete and utter dominance.

With that being said, I was glad to hear Ortiz say that he’s going to be in the UFC for a long time to come. He’s an exciting fighter, and I look forward to him fighting someone other than Liddell, Ken Shamrock and Randy Couture. The UFC’s light-heavyweight division is swelling with talent, and there’s plenty of room for a top-tier fighter like Ortiz. He’ll get another shot at the title before all is said and done.

Overall, the UFC card was a fantastic one in my opinion. In a Sherdog thread, I ranked it an 8.5 on a 1-to-10 scale. Only one of the nine fights went to a decision, and we saw some fantastic submissions and knockouts. Mix in the news of Mirko Ã¢â?¬Å?Cro CopÃ¢â?¬Â Filipovic and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson officially fighting at UFC 67 in February, and I’m blown away by what the UFC has in store for 2007.

Andrei Arlovski looked like the dominant fighter we all remember. His strikes were crisp, his legs were quick, and that “Pitbull” ferociousness was at full throttle. I think it’s safe to say that Arlovski is officially back, and I look for him to make some noise in the heavyweight division in the coming year.

I could brag about calling the Jason MacDonald upset of Chris Leben weeks ago, but honestly, a number of people expected the match to go that way. MacDonald has now defeated — in impressive fashion — Ed Herman and Chris Leben, two of the marquee names out of The Ultimate Fighter ranks. Is it time for a fight with Mike Swick to see if he can pull off the unthinkable sweep of TUF talent? I hope so. Regardless, MacDonald is etching out a name for himself in the UFC’s middleweight division and suddenly finds himself in the division’s top 10. (On a sidenote, how much crap is Joe Rogan going to take for calling him Rob MacDonald all night? At least he didn’t have Norm MacDonald on his mind.)

Michael Bisping didn’t disappoint in his win over Eric Schafer. He wiggled his way out of some dangerous situations early on and ultimately relied on his strength and striking to carry him to a victory. How long do you have to wait to give him a shot at Liddell? I know he’s got a long way until he gets there, but I do think it’ll make an interesting matchup if and when it happens.

Where does Griffin go from here? He was obviously very emotional after last night’s loss, and the usually talkative and outgoing fan favorite had (amazingly) very little to say after the fight. I don’t think he was mentally prepared for a loss and never envisioned himself losing to Jardine. Unfortunately, once he got popped by that uppercut near the end of the round, he refused to step back and regroup. He simply forced the action, and Jardine was better equipped for the exchange. I think that was one of those circumstances in which a fighter’s pride and confidence did him in. In trying to win the round, he ended up losing the fight.

Thiago Alves perhaps impressed me the most. I’m thankful the UFC squeezed his fight into the broadcast. He beat a formidable opponent with an entire toolkit of skills. I still believe he may be one of the best matches for Josh Koscheck’s style of fighting.

Some more general thoughts…

If, in fact, UFC 66 garnered the 1.2 million pay-per-view buys Dana White and Co. expected, we’re going to see some immediate dividends. Imagine someone who never watched a UFC event tuning in for the first time and seeing last night’s event. I’d have to imagine that his/her appetite was adequately whet. (Check out this report from a packed Hooters location showing the event.)

Did I hear the UFC say something about broadcasting in high-definition soon? God, I hope so. The quality of tonight’s signal was horrible. After watching a beautiful picture on my 42-inch high-definition LCD all day, I was bummed to see the dark and grainy feed I got from the UFC and Time Warner Cincinnati.

With the addition of Cro Cop and Rampage, that UFC 67 card has suddenly become a can’t-miss event. I’ll surely be tuning in.

I had so much damn fun “live blogging” this event, you can expect more in the future. Thanks again everyone for an unforgettable night for the UFC and MMAjunkie.com.

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